


Paracelsus : Painting the Mona Lisa (Request)

by xSukunas_Toy_Gojos_Bitchx



Series: Men of Fate Anthology [5]
Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms, Fate/stay night - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-20
Updated: 2020-02-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:29:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22812358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xSukunas_Toy_Gojos_Bitchx/pseuds/xSukunas_Toy_Gojos_Bitchx
Relationships: Paracelsus von Hohenheim/Reader
Series: Men of Fate Anthology [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1296719
Kudos: 6





	Paracelsus : Painting the Mona Lisa (Request)

It was hard not to be in awe of Celus' skills in a lab. He treated every combination of chemicals, even the ones he had already documented the outcomes of as if he had found the cure for a long-standing disease.His excitement was intoxicating as his wide, close-lipped smile spread across his porcelain face. It was beauty itself to behold as well as one I was never meant to be a part of.

Not being strong in the earth sciences department, it seemed almost tortuous that I would be partnered with literally THE HOTTEST alchemist in history and yet not be able to relate to him to break the proverbial ice. This meant I just got to watch from the sidelines as he used our free time to test the unknown theories of the universe and magic while helping where I could.

"My dear, would you be so kind as to pass me that vial that is ninety degrees to your left? It's the one on the stand with the long funnel and the greenish liquid inside."

"Sure thing," I replied trying not to sound too downhearted that he hadn't even looked up at me when he asked. He had a great mind and the most welcoming personality ever, making him the most amicable scientist I had met other than Romani. This meant he treated everyone with the same amount of love and kindness, always taking the time to help others understand with gentle words and soft, trusting hands.

Hands I wished he would use on me more often. As the thought completed, my face went red and I tried to turn away so as not to attract any attention, not that that was even possible.

"Are you ill?" There was concern in his voice and I blushed even harder as I turned around to face his softly analytical eyes. "Your heartbeat just increased and you seem to be excreting from your pours." Placing his hand in his pocket he pulls out his handkerchief before raising it to my forehead and dabbing the perspiration away. "Your eyes don't look cloudy, and your breathing is only slightly elevated. Should I take you back to the room so you can lie down?"

Shaking my head briskly I back up a step. "No, I'm fine. I just got caught up in the moment I guess." Then I smiled weakly in hopes that would throw off his inquisitiveness. Fortunately, it seemed to work.

"Really? The combining of multiple elements to create something unknown is rather riveting, isn't it? Though somehow I can't help feeling you would rather be doing something else."

Though his look isn't critical or accusatory, his soft smile and a slight tilt of the head that causes his long, beautiful hair to frame his face and cascade over his right shoulder in a fluidity only mercury possesses suggests he is on to me. That and the way he phrased his sentence...Before I can form a response he steps closer and my eyes inadvertently go wide.

"What is it that captivates you and bonds your soul to the excitements the universe has to offer?"

Unable to face the intensity of such a question from the man that stands at the crux of the very answer I would give, I turn my head and look out the expansive glass window into the turbulent snowstorm that rages outside Chaldea's protective walls.

"Much like you, I love to create, to bring something from nothing, to see a result before the beginning. Unlike you, however, I find that release in painting. The combining of new pigments and media to bring forth a multifaceted image made from the world's most beautiful colors and elements..." my eyes turn to his with an intensity wrought by a dormant passion "...it is as if I was creating something anew from something already existing."

His light-hearted laugh both warms my heart and frustrates me, causing my face to scrunch up and a pout to cross my lips.

"I do not laugh because I find it funny. I laugh because we are one in the same you and I and it helps me understand what may have drawn us together."

I continue to pout but raise a questioning eyebrow.

"I think it is better if I show you." Then he motions me towards the door of the lab before placing a gentle hand on my lower back and giving a light push.

Following his motions with curiosity, we walk out of the lab and a few doors down to the left. Placing his hand on the button on the doorframe, we enter a room that is empty except for an easel in the center that holds a blank canvas, a tray table with jars and painters pallet, a high backed stool, and a projection screen on the wall before it.

"Tell me, what do you enjoy painting?" He asks as he walks towards the wall where the screen is.

"Well, I enjoy art from the Renaissance period as well as most Asian art.I also like painting still life's."

"I see." He crosses his left arm across his middle as he raises his right arm up so his hand cups his chin with his index finger on his lip and the rest of his hand under his chin; a classic gesture of deep thought.

After a moment he nods and touches the button on the right side of the screen lighting it up and displaying a keyboard to the right. Typing away, he pulls up an image of both the Mona Lisa and a nondescript stained glass window from a church.

"What if I asked you to paint the Mona Lisa as a stained glass window?"

My eyes go wide. "I might be able to do that." Looking to my right, I begin assessing the paints lost in thought, when his hand lands on top of mine.

"There is a catch."

The smile he gives me is mischievously friendly. Like the one he gave me before we almost blew a hole in the window of the lab as he combined two minerals he had found on one of our Singularity runs through Okeanos.

"Is it life-threatening?"

"Of course not, though it might be a little...unconventional for you."

Picking up the vials, he goes to the closet behind us and opens it.Clearly the Tardis of closets, it expands into a multi-shelf walk in that houses paints and pigments from insurmountable sources. When he gets halfway inside, he grabs a tray to his left with powders the color of wheat in harvest, the grass at the peak of Spring and the night sky as the last sliver of sunlight falls below the horizon.

Looking at him questioningly he smiles back with that closed mouth mischief he is known for before turning to his right and crouching down. Seconds later a cool breeze hits me as a small door opens and Celus reaches in to grab a vile of bright yellow liquid.

"The secret ingredient." Then he rises and exits the closet with me in tow. 

"I'm sure you are curious to find out why I didn't grab the watercolors," he states as he begins arranging the colors on the top tray after placing the vialed liquid on the lower. "The reason being, I wanted you to have the most authentic stain glass experience possible."

In the next few moments, I watch him pour a fourth of an inkwell of the liquid into each vial before adding the powdered pigments. No sooner had the other vile of yellow liquid been corked and the individual ink weld of pigments stirred than the putrid and acidic smell of urine burned the inside of my nose.

Scrunching up my face, I make a disgusted sound.

Smiling with a slight chuckle behind closed lips, Celus continues to add things on the tray to the mixture of pigments.

"Please tell me that liquid isn't what it smells like."

Looking at me briefly with clear, matter of fact eyes Celus elaborates. "It is and it isn't. If you want me to say it isn't urine I can't because it is.What you don't know is that it's Caster Gil's."

My eyes going wide, my mouth looks like a fish attempting to breathe out of the water which causes a soft but hearty laugh from Celus. "Your wonderment never ceases to amaze me. It makes me wish I had obtained it by dubious means instead of his own free will."

Scrunching my eyes together in confusion, I just stare at the alchemist.

"Did you not know how much of a man of science? Much more educationally minded than that hot-headed counterpart of his." Giving the last vial a final stir he sets it down. "Turns out anything to do with the knowledge he is willing to contribute to or inquire about. That being said, your pigments are done." Gesturing with his hand at the mock painter's station, he smiled softly.

Remaining skeptical, I hesitantly pick up a fine tip brush and dab it in the black ink. Swirling it around slowly I marvel that I can't sense any different tension in the viscosity of the paint.

"Your surprise is palpable my dear. It's quite nice to see as it brightens up your face quite prettily."

Blushing at the unexpected compliment, I purse my lips and turn to the empty canvas.

"Are you not even curious as to how this marvel of bodily fluids works in such an obscure dynamic?" His voice is slightly hurt but also hopeful.

Sighing knowing that his feelings would be hurt if I didn't ask, I cave. "Of course I am interested, especially since I doubt you needed the king's urine specifically."

With his eyes closed and his lips arced in the larges smile his face could support, he excitedly explains, "Pigment formed by mixing iron oxide and ground copper with powdered glass are combined with wine, urine, or vinegar to help bind the pigment to the glass. Though you are correct I didn't specifically need his, collecting it while I was speaking with him on other matters seemed to be the most prudent at the time."

"And when exactly did you collect this prized sample?" I ask curiously.

"When he and I were in the common lab discussing water purification treatments in the event Headquarters falls under attack and we lose running water."

I blink several times wondering if this line of logic was completely serious or not.

"I assure you the king's desire to ensure Chaldea is protected is entirely genuine. He has adapted it as his New Babylon of sorts so he feels the need to ensure all aspects of it are functioning which drives poor Romani absolutely to an aneurysm."

In spite of the cruelty befalling the poor professor I laugh. "Well, if you are sure this will work..."

"I am as sure as I am curious."

There was a statement that never bodes well. With a twitch of my eye, I give the brush one final swirl before bringing it to the canvas in front of me; my eyes flitting towards the wall that reflects the inspiration for the work I wish to replicate.

With each stroke, I marveled at the way the slightly transparent colors absorbed into the paper in unforeseeable ways to capture both the jewel-like tones of the colors used as well as the transparent quality only known to watercolors. Before I knew it, I had created an entirely unique rendition of one of the most historically beautiful women in the world.

"You know, it turned out better than expected." Celus' soft voice caressed my ear making me blush as I set the brush down to examine my finished work. "Though its beauty hardly compares to yours."

With his voice unexpectedly soft and deep, my head turns quickly to find myself a fraction away from our noses touching.

"You know to watch you and the passion you carry for your art is both invigorating and jealousy inspiring. It makes me wish you looked at me with such life and unbridled emotion." Then his fingers captured a lock of hair as his eyes traveled down my face at the same pace his fingers ran down the strands.

Feeling my face flush I swallow hard having no idea how to respond.

"Shall we run a controlled experiment you and me?"

His eyes seemed to carry a primal tinge as if he hungered for a result he had not yet tasted.

"On the count of three I shall subject you to a test and we shall see just how successful my hypothesis is. Are you ready?"

I hesitantly nod.

"Alright then. One..."

"Two..."

That's when I make the mistake and blink, giving him just the avenue he needs to capture my lips as his hand slides behind my neck to pull me into a kiss. It takes me several seconds to register the hunger in his once unbiased lips but once they do I press back into his as my hand comes to cup his cheek.

For several moments we kiss, our lips barely separating until my lungs burn and I pull away breathless. 

"Three." Is all he says and the last thing I let him say before tackling him to the ground and proving that love is the only test I have complete control over going forward.


End file.
